Seasonal Water Quality Changes through the years in the Whitewater Creek Watershed
Mentor 1
Dr. Dale Splinter
Location
Union Wisconsin Room
Start Date
24-4-2015 10:30 AM
End Date
24-4-2015 11:45 AM
Description
Understanding water quality in Southeastern Wisconsin watershed is important because it is a habitat for animals and plants, a possible source of drinking water, recreational use for humans, and irrigation for farming and crops. Within watersheds, water quality tends to vary greatly from month-to-month and season-to-season. For this research, data was collected on a monthly basis amongst 12 different selected locations within the Whitewater Creek watershed. Using an YSI 556 multi-probe unit along with past data collected since 2008 we looked into temperature, DO, pH, and conductivity, and a transparency tube for clarity. With the data collected we compared our different locations that we visited and how the data varies from season to season. The comparisons done were Bluff Creek and Whitewater Creek Headwaters, Whitewater Lake Outlet and Rice Lake Outlet, Millis Road and Willis Ray Road, and Freemont Street Bridge and Cold Spring. An example of results that were seen was the average mean pH between Whitewater Lake and Rice Lake. We saw a difference in winter with Whitewater Lake averaging 7.88 and Rice Lake averaging 8.23. Water quality is a crucial part of the aquatic environment, and large decider on whether or not life inside and around the watershed strives. This data can tell us about the ecosystem around the Whitewater Creek watershed and how the water quality varies from season to season, as well as help others when collecting data from the watershed in the future.
Seasonal Water Quality Changes through the years in the Whitewater Creek Watershed
Union Wisconsin Room
Understanding water quality in Southeastern Wisconsin watershed is important because it is a habitat for animals and plants, a possible source of drinking water, recreational use for humans, and irrigation for farming and crops. Within watersheds, water quality tends to vary greatly from month-to-month and season-to-season. For this research, data was collected on a monthly basis amongst 12 different selected locations within the Whitewater Creek watershed. Using an YSI 556 multi-probe unit along with past data collected since 2008 we looked into temperature, DO, pH, and conductivity, and a transparency tube for clarity. With the data collected we compared our different locations that we visited and how the data varies from season to season. The comparisons done were Bluff Creek and Whitewater Creek Headwaters, Whitewater Lake Outlet and Rice Lake Outlet, Millis Road and Willis Ray Road, and Freemont Street Bridge and Cold Spring. An example of results that were seen was the average mean pH between Whitewater Lake and Rice Lake. We saw a difference in winter with Whitewater Lake averaging 7.88 and Rice Lake averaging 8.23. Water quality is a crucial part of the aquatic environment, and large decider on whether or not life inside and around the watershed strives. This data can tell us about the ecosystem around the Whitewater Creek watershed and how the water quality varies from season to season, as well as help others when collecting data from the watershed in the future.
